by Ryan Burton

 

BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Sechew "Iron Horse" Powell who is the #1 ranked challenger by the IBF in the junior middleweight division.  Powell (26-2) is set to face IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage (30-4) on August 25th in St. Charles,MO on the undercard of the Devon Alexander versus Lucas Matthysse HBO televised clash.  Powell talks about the keys to victory, future plans and more in this exclusive interview.

 

BoxingScene.com: Lets get to it Sechew.  Give us your thoughts on your big fight coming up on June 25th versus Cornelius Bundrage for his IBF junior middleweight strap.

 

Sechew Powell:  I can't wait man.  I can't wait.  It is going to be the biggest night of my life.

 

BoxingScene.com: You will have been out of the ring about 15 months when you step in the ring.  Are you concerned at all about ring rust?

 

Sechew Powell:  Not at all.  I am going to go in there and do what I do best.  I have been boxing 20+ years competitively and I understand what is necessary to be successful.  I am going to go in there and execute and I plan on being victorious.

 

BoxingScene.com:  Even though you haven't been in an actual fight in 15 months I am sure you have been in the gym working.  Have you been doing a lot of sparring to keep yourself sharp?

 

Sechew Powell:  Yes I stay ready.  I have been in the gym with all kinds of world class fighters.  Most of my friends are world class fighters.  The thing with me is I am always in the game.  I am never on hiatus as far as being in the gym and working.  I am not worried about ring rust or anything of that nature.

 

BoxingScene.com:  This isn't the first time that you have been on the shelf waiting for a fight that seemingly had been set and just needed a date and venue.  This also happened to you both of the times that you faced Deandre Latimore in IBF eliminator bouts.  Do you ever get discouraged with the politics of boxing?

 

Sechew Powell:  I understand the business of boxing.  It is a cesspool of a business.  I feel very fortunate to stay above the madness.  I have been able to stay above the pollution for the most part and here I am in a world title fight.  I am not looking at any of the negatives or any of the cons.  I am just looking at the pros.  I am looking at the opportunity that is in front of me.  It is a huge opportunity and I am excited.  It is on June 25th.  It is finally set.  It is going down.  It is going to happen.  I am not worried and I don't take any time out to look at that type of stuff.  I am just grateful of the fact that I am going to get a shot at a world title.

 

BoxingScene.com:  This is a rematch of your 2005 fight that was televised by ShoBox in which you knocked out Bundrage in the 1st round.  The fight gained a lot of notoriety because it had a rare double knockdown.  Can you take anything out of that fight and apply it to this fight being that fight was so long ago?

 

Sechew Powell:  To be honest with you I trained to beat him up in that fight.  I didn't train to knock him out so fast.  It was sudden and very unexpected.  I trained very hard for the fight.  He was 21-0 at the time and I was 15-0.  He had more knockouts than I had fights at the time so you know I took it very seriously.  I put in a lot of rounds in the gym.  I just didn't expect to knock him out so fast.  I expected a rough and tough fight but at the same time I expected to whoop that ass, you know what I am saying?  The only thing that I can take from that fight is that he is a guy that doens't take a punch very good and that he is a guy that is arrogant in my opinion.  Those two things I think have not changed.

 

BoxingScene.com:  Bundrage has been saying for a while now that he wants to face guys like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez.  He has said he wants the big money fights but if they don't go through that he would fight you as you are his mandatory challenger.  Do you feel slighted at all by that?

 

Sechew Powell:  Not at all. Why would he want to fight me?  I made him tuck and roll.  You saw the fight.  It was hilarious.  Many people wouldn't want to get right back in the ring with the person who did that to them.  I respect his hesitance to want to jump right back in the ring with me.  This guy knows what I can do to him.  It is not a thing of what I might be able to do to him because it has been proven.  At the same time he is looking for a big payday.  He is an older fighter.  He is an older man.  In a lot of people's opinions he doesn't even deserve to be in the position that he is in.  He is a B class fighter with no pedigree.  He is looking for a payday and you can't blame him.  When you become a world champion you are looking to cash in.  You want to get a big fight.  You want to take it to the next level.  You at least want the opportunity to take it to the next level and it didn't happen for him unfortunately and he was forced to fight his mandatory and that is pretty much what it is and that is pretty much where we are at.

 

BoxingScene.com:  I know you aren't looking past him but if you get the win like you plan on doing do you want to get a shot at one of those big names?

 

Sechew Powell:  That all sounds great but I am going to do whatever boxing has in store for me.  I am going to do whatever it takes to get the respect of the boxing fans and get on the scoreboard.  These guys have tried to block me off the scoreboard for a number of reasons.  That is okay.  At the same time I am looking to earn my respect.  I am not upset about anything you stated earlier about having to wait and all that.  All of that is fine because I haven't earned my bones in this business yet and I plan on doing that on June 25th.  I am looking for a breakthrough performance.

 

BoxingScene.com:  On June 25th HBO will be televising a triple header that will be headlined by the Devon Alexander versus Lucas Matthysse fight.  Are you surprised or disappointed that your fight versus Bundrage won't be televised being that it is a title fight and that the first fight has such a history?

 

Sechew Powell:  I was surprised but not disappointed.  It is what it is.  HBO will make the decisions that they want to make and I am just going to do my job.  My job is to go into the ring and destroy.  My job is not to figure out who gets the HBO televised fights or who gets to walk in the ring last.  That is irrelevant.  What is relevant to me is I am supposed to go in there and destroy.  I am supposed to dominate and put on a breakthrough performance and HBO is going to be sorry that they did not air my fight because it is going to be a classic.

 

BoxingScene.com:  Assuming you win the fight are you planning on being more active as a champion?

 

Sechew Powell: When you get the belt and you have a strap I believe then you have to be somewhat marketable.  It didn't happen for K9 for a number of reasons that I won't even begin to go into but I don't think that will be the case for me.  I am going to dominate this dude.  I am looking to break him down, beat him up and knock him out.  Once I become champion whatever is out there for me is what I am going to get.  I have a really good team behind me as far as the people that I trust in to make things happen.  I think that they are going to do an awesome job of lining me up for the best opportunities out there in this division.

 

BoxingScene.com:  The 154 pound division has a lot of good fighters.  You had to have looked ahead a little bit.  If you could fight any of the guys in the division who would it be?

 

Sechew Powell:  If I had to pick someone right off the top of the bat I would take Canelo Alvarez or Miguel Cotto.  Either one in any order.  Those are the two guys that I would pick first but at the same time I am looking to make my bones in this business.  I will take anybody that the HBO crowd or the fans say is the guy to beat.  I want the guy to beat.  Once I beat that guy I get myself on the scoreboard.  I am really just trying to get on the scoreboard and show these people out there that I am a serious contender.  I am hungrier than ever.  My passion is so strong to become a world champion to get the recognition that I feel that I deserve.  So many young fighters that I came up with in the game have gotten their props in the business and I have yet to get mines.  That is nobodies fault except for maybe even my own but my time is now.  I am looking to dominate people now and show people what I am about right now.

 

BoxingScene.com:  Last question, do you have a message for the fans?

 

Sechew Powell:  I want the fans to come out to St. Louis if you can or check out the fight live on dkp.com.  It is going to be streaming live on the net.  I am looking for a breakthrough performance.  There are a lot of people out there that want to see the Iron Horse do well.  I know that.  It is going to be a joyous day for me and those people as well.  A lot of people are going to celebrating when I break through and get what I am looking for.  At the same time there are a lot of haters out there.  A lot of people have a foul face but you know what that is life and I can live with that.  Fans can check me out on Facebook as well.

 

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